"Qiao, thanks for your hard work."
The fourth period had just ended, and Lucas Amaki brought Gotoh Hitori and Qiao Yu to the cafeteria.
"It's fine, not hard at all," Qiao Yu waved his hand casually.
"As long as it's not too hard. While you're here as an exchange student, there are still a bunch of classes that need your help."
"..."
"Gotoh-san, you and Qiao sit first. I'll go grab us some food," Lucas said as he turned around.
"I… I can go by myself…"
Gotoh Hitori gently waved her hand.
But when she turned and looked around, she suddenly froze.
There were so many people.
I, I, I…
I want to go back to class…
Lucas glanced at Hitori, who was trembling slightly, and sighed.
"Qiao, keep an eye on your sister-in-law. I'll go get food for both of you," Lucas said to Qiao Yu.
"Alright," Qiao Yu nodded.
But when Hitori heard what Lucas just said, she was completely stunned.
Sis-sister-in-law?!
A-Amaki-san, what are you talking about…!
W-we're already at that stage…?
No, obviously…
"Excuse me, is your name Gotoh Hitori?" Qiao Yu suddenly asked.
"Uh… yes."
Hitori lifted her head slightly at his words.
"Hello, my name is Qiao Yu. I'm the good brother of Amaki. If you're really his girlfriend, then I'll call you sister-in-law."
Qiao Yu said it calmly.
He wasn't sure if Lucas would ever talk about having a girlfriend.
After being in China for so long, he'd never once seen Lucas show interest in girls.
And now, right after coming to Japan, he suddenly has a girlfriend—
And such a cute one at that!
"N-no… well… yes…"
Hitori's voice grew quieter with every word.
"Gotoh-san, this is for you."
At that moment, Lucas came back with a tray and gently placed it on the table.
"Sorry for bringing you all the way here to eat because of Qiao. Next time, I'll just ask him to bring a bento box," Lucas said.
"No… it's really fine."
Gotoh Hitori quickly waved her hands.
"Wait, where's my food?"
Qiao Yu noticed something off. Lucas had asked him to bring his high-speed rail ticket, and now he didn't even get a meal?
"What's the rush? I'm not in a hurry to eat," Lucas replied lightly.
"Let Gotoh-san eat first. If I really can't wait, we'll just go out to eat after school."
"Alright," Qiao Yu nodded.
"B-but… Amaki-san, if you don't eat now, won't it be hard to make it through the rest of the day…"
Gotoh Hitori pushed her tray toward Lucas, concerned.
"It's fine, you eat first. I can go to the Discipline Committee and grab some snacks to keep me going," Lucas said as he pushed the tray back to her.
"You don't have to worry about me. My mission right now is to make sure you're happy every day."
He chuckled.
"B-but, Amaki-san, you're always telling me to take care of my health, but you never take care of your own…"
"I-I…"
Hitori couldn't bring herself to say more.
Lucas froze slightly.
She's… actually starting to care about me…
"Ahem. If you two are going to flirt, can you at least wait until after lunch? I don't think this cafeteria is the right place for public displays of affection,"
Qiao Yu coughed lightly.
As Lucas and Hitori exchanged awkward, caring glances, Qiao Yu somehow pulled out a handful of melon seeds from his pocket and began eating them.
They tasted incredibly sour for some reason.
***
[Ding ding ding…]
The school bell rang.
"Gotoh-san, Qiao, let's go."
Lucas picked up his school bag.
"Oh right, Gotoh-san, give me your bag. I'll carry it for you," he said, reaching out.
The school had distributed some new textbooks today, which only added to the weight of Hitori's already-heavy bag.
"N-no… it's okay," she replied.
No need?
Better just give it to me.
Lucas took the bag directly from her hands and slung it over his shoulder.
The moment he put it on, he felt a sharp tightness in his shoulders.
Hiss… so heavy…
"Amaki-san, y-you should let me carry your bag…"
Gotoh Hitori looked worried.
"Nope, it's fine. I got this."
Lucas waved it off.
"Here, hold mine for a sec,"
he said to Qiao Yu, noticing he was empty-handed, and handed him his own bag.
"Oh, alright," Qiao Yu replied as he took it.
"Alright, let's go."
Lucas smiled.
"Mm."
"Uh-huh."
***
"Order whatever you want."
Lucas Amaki tossed the menu to Qiao Yu.
"You said it."
Qiao Yu grabbed the menu and flipped straight to the last few pages.
"If they've got fried chicken nuggets, order them aswell."
Lucas leaned back in his seat.
"Huh? I remember you didn't even like fried chicken nuggets."
Qiao Yu asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I've been craving them lately."
Lucas replied casually.
Qiao Yu didn't entirely buy it.
He glanced at Gotoh Hitori, who was sitting next to Lucas, and suddenly it all made sense.
Ah, I see…
"Alright then. Since you like them now, I'll order them."
Qiao Yu stood up and headed for the counter.
"Gotoh-san, you don't have to be so reserved,"
Lucas smiled.
"Qiao Yu's a sharp guy. He even helped me get away with skipping class once."
"Eh…? A-Amaki-san, you skipped class?"
Gotoh Hitori looked at him in surprise.
Since the start of the semester, she'd never seen Lucas miss a single class.
"I did. That day was brutal—I nearly passed out from heatstroke in the classroom. I couldn't take it, so I skipped."
Lucas grimaced slightly at the memory.
It was 37°C outside, and probably over 50°C inside. The air conditioning hadn't even been installed back then.
Being in an honors class made it hard to skip without raising suspicion.
But somehow, Qiao Yu managed to talk the teacher into it.
Lucas never asked how.
He just accepted it after that.
"Alright, food's ordered. Now we wait,"
Qiao Yu said as he pulled out his chair and sat back down.
"Mm."
Lucas nodded.
"And thanks for respecting me so much by not ordering anything super expensive."
He grinned.
"Don't worry, I didn't plan on making you pay a yen."
Qiao Yu shot back.
"Gotoh-san, would you like something to drink?"
Lucas turned to her.
"N-no, I'm okay."
Hitori waved her hands slightly.
"Qiao, ask them to make a pot of tea."
Lucas said.
"Why don't you go?"
Qiao Yu looked at him.
"Because I'm lazy."
"Then you're not going to make Gotoh-san go, are you?"
Lucas smiled lightly.
"Exactly."
"Alright, alright."
Qiao Yu got up.
He hasn't changed a bit—still lazy as ever.
But Qiao Yu noticed something else.
Lucas really seemed to care about Gotoh Hitori.
Especially during class.
Qiao Yu had often seen Lucas going out of his way to patiently explain problems to her, using simpler terms to help her understand.
He even sounded more serious than usual when doing it.
Well, whatever. If I skip out on your wedding someday, I guess I'd feel a little guilty for ditching you.
Qiao Yu shook his head and walked off.
"Amaki-san, is… is this really okay…"
Hitori said quietly.
"It's fine, Gotoh-kun."
Lucas smiled warmly.
"When I first met Qiao, we actually became friends through fighting."
"E-Eh?"
"Yeah. Back in first year of junior high, we had a big disagreement during a group project for military training. We almost got into a fight, but we both held back and decided to settle it after school."
"And after that… well, the rest is history. We became best friends."
"I-I see…"
Gotoh Hitori lowered her head slowly.
What Lucas said was exactly the kind of connection she yearned for—
Someone she could call a true friend, someone she could open up to.
But… but…
My personality…
That self-introduction on the first day of school…
Even now, the only one I've managed to become friends with is Amaki-san.
Even if we're… dating… it still feels like we're just friends.
And it's all part of the fake relationship anyway…
Maybe… I really can't make friends after all…
***
Seeing Gotoh Hitori's distant expression, Lucas Amaki felt a little confused.
What's going through this girl's head?
Are people with social anxiety really this caught up in their own inner thoughts?
Maybe… I should read a book about social anxiety.
That way, I won't accidentally upset Gotoh-san when we talk in the future.
That was the thought in Lucas's mind.
"Lucas, pass me your cup—and Gotoh-san's too."
Qiao Yu walked over with a steaming pot of tea.
"Alright."
Lucas handed over both his cup and Gotoh Hitori's.
Qiao Yu set the teapot down and glanced at the cups.
They'd each taken a sip earlier, leaving faint lip marks on the rims.
He squinted at the cups, gears turning.
Have these two even kissed yet?
From the way Gotoh-san always sticks close to Lucas while walking—head down, clinging to his side—Qiao Yu had no doubt.
Gotoh Hitori was 100% socially anxious.
As Lucas's bro, Qiao Yu figured he should lend a hand however he could.
So the moment Lucas turned his head to look at Hitori, Qiao Yu stealthily swapped the cups and poured tea into them.
"Here you go, Lucas."
He placed Gotoh Hitori's cup in front of Lucas.
"And this one's for you, Gotoh-san."
He slid Lucas's cup over to her.
"Th-thank you."
Hitori said, voice barely above a whisper.
"No problem. Just doing my part."
Qiao Yu smiled warmly.
"Qiao, want to go over how we're handling tomorrow's class?"
Lucas picked up the teacup and took a sip.
Qiao Yu silently cheered when Lucas drank from Hitori's cup.
Then forced himself to keep a straight face.
"For tomorrow, I think we should start with a practical review—some applied theory stuff. It'll help them digest what I taught yesterday. I'll head home and put together a set of worksheets."
"…Just don't give them to me."
Lucas said immediately.
"Don't worry, I won't. Just help Gotoh-san go through them during class. She seems to follow your explanations better."
"Yeah, yeah."
Lucas replied casually.
Gotoh Hitori quietly picked up her tea and took a sip.
She couldn't find an opening to join their conversation.
I can't even speak up…
Yes!!
Qiao Yu cheered in his mind again when he saw her drink from Lucas's cup.
When you two actually kiss someday, just remember to check your surroundings. I might be watching.
"Excuse me, here's your order."
The server arrived with a cart full of dishes and began placing them on the table.
"Thanks."
Lucas nodded politely as the server rolled the cart away.
Then he reached for the plate of fried chicken nuggets and placed it in front of Gotoh Hitori.
"Gotoh-san, Gotoh-san. Time to eat."
He gently poked her arm.
"O-oh… okay."
Hitori nodded.
Ah, this sweet romantic comedy is killing me,
Qiao Yu thought.
When's it going to be my turn…?
After finishing their meal, Lucas paid the bill, and the three of them left the restaurant together.
"Let's go get some dessert."
Lucas said casually.
He was probably the only one who didn't eat enough.
He'd spent most of the meal passing all the good dishes to Gotoh Hitori.
By the time he got around to eating, only the leftovers were still warm.
"A-Amaki-san… are you still hungry?"
Hitori asked hesitantly.
"Ahem—Gotoh-san, you don't know this yet, but Lucas is a secret big eater. He just hides it well."
Qiao Yu jumped in quickly.
That was a complete lie, of course.
During the meal, Qiao Yu saw Lucas hand over every good dish to Hitori the moment she looked away.
Lucas barely ate anything himself.
"W-well… if Amaki-san's still hungry… then… okay. Let's go."
Hitori nodded shyly.